PROFILE OF HIGHWAY REST AREA USAGE AND USERS

A profile of rest area usage patterns and of rest area user attributes is presented based on interviews at 13 rest areas in five states, on a nationwide telephone survey, and on unpublished data furnished by a number of states. These data show that rest area usage, as a function of mainline traffic, varies widely and averages 10.3%. Trucks and recreational vehicles are more likely to enter rest areas than are passenger automobiles. The demographic characteristics of the rest area user population are closely matched to those of the long trip driving population with a slight overrepresentation of older drivers. Toilet use and resting-stretching together account for more than 80% of all the stated reasons for stopping at rest areas. The average time in a rest area is somewhat longer than 10 minutes, with a pronounced increase in length of stay at lunchtime. Recreational vehicles and trucks generally stay for longer periods. Rest areas, and public financing thereof, have the overwhelming approval of the user population. However, there are some perceived security problems associated with rest area use at night.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1989/1224/1224-012.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=PROFILE+OF+HIGHWAY+REST+AREA+USAGE+AND+USERS&author=G.+King&publication_year=1989
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309048184
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1224, Rest Areas, Wetlands, and Hydrology. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • King, Gerhart
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 88-95
• Monograph Title: Rest areas, Wetlands and hydrology
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1224
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged drivers; Data analysis; Data collection; Demographics; Interviewing; Mathematical analysis; Night; Recreational vehicles; Roadside rest areas; Security; Surveys; Trucks; Utilization
• Old TRIS Terms: User characteristics
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Research; Security and Emergencies; Society; Terminals and Facilities; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00495046
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309048184
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jun 30 1990 12:00AM